Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

The Irish Prison Service strategic plan contains a number of key objectives for the next three years, one of which includes the expansion of a pilot community return project which commenced last October in line with the recommendations of the Thornton Hall project review group. This community return programme is an incentivised scheme run in conjunction with the probation service which provides for earned temporary release under which offenders who pose no threat to the community are offered early temporary release in return for supervised community service. I can assure the Deputy that the probation service has sufficient resources available it to support the scheme at present. It has been able to manage and resource the scheme since its commencement last October and I am fully committed to ensuring this will continue. As it is, the probation service has responsibility for the supervision and management of community service orders in accordance with the Criminal Justice (Community Service) Act 1983, as amended by the Criminal Justice (Community Service) (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 2011. This work, inter alia, involves providing assessment reports to the courts and managing the completion of the orders by offenders.

A value for money audit of the community service scheme which was carried out in 2007 to 2008 and published in October 2009, found that there was capacity from within existing resources to provide supervision services to three times as many offenders as were under their supervision at the time of the audit. I might also add that the service has been working to prioritise its workload and has been allocating resources to maximise its efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of services including community sanctions, as an effective alternative to custody. This also includes working with high risk sex offenders and young people and those for whom the service has a legislative mandate.

I am pleased to say that sanction was recently obtained to fill the vacant director post in the probation service which will be advertised in the coming weeks. The service will continue to have my full support in making greater use of community service to the benefit of prisoners and communities as an alternative to imprisonment.

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